"There's probably only one guy that knows that and that guy's higher up than the U.P." -- Tom Izzo

EAST LANSING -- The double-edged sword is both a benefit and a liability.

In the case of Michigan State's Keith Appling, playing through pain may have cost him.

Appling spoke with media Tuesday night for the first time since the Spartans' 64-60 loss to Georgetown on Feb.1. Since then, Appling has been sidelined due to a nagging wrist injury, which originally occurred in early December. The injury lingered for two months and then suddenly rendered him out of commission prior to last Thursday's game versus Penn State.

Michigan State guard Keith Appling says he's trying to learn to fall in a way that won't stress his wrist once he returns. Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

We do know that coach Tom Izzo does not plan on playing or practicing Appling this week. Izzo's two-week estimate would mark the return at Feb.23, the day No. 9 Michigan State (20-4, 9-2) travels to No. 15 Michigan (18-6, 10-2).

The question Tuesday became whether or not the long recovery period could have been avoided by sitting Appling earlier.

"You just got to fight through it," Appling said. "That's how I was brought up; that's all I know. Maybe I let it linger too long and get to where it is, but right now I can't do nothing about it but continue to rehab it and hope it gets better."

Appling says the pain was at a constant level but got unbearable one day after practice, soon after the loss to the Hoyas.

"I mean, it was already sore, but then I came in and got up a lot of shots, and then afterward it just felt really bad," Appling said. "I think I was just overworked a little bit and it didn't benefit me in the right direction. But what's done is done, I can't take it back now. I've just got to fight through it."

Izzo says the team's medical staff has done everything it can for Appling, and the staff would not have played him had something been structurally wrong with the wrist. X-rays, MRIs, an ultrasound, a laser, icing, resting, massage and even acupuncture have been used for diagnostics and treatment. The wrist has been anything but neglected.

Izzo says he does not believe that Appling should have sat earlier. Appling always admitted he was sore but insisted that he didn't want to sit out. When his shooting percentage began to plummet -- and when Appling felt it began to affect his team -- he sat begrudgingly.

Appling averages 15 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game this season but had averaged just 10.3 points in the four games prior to the Penn State game.

As for whether his senior point guard's toughness, in the end, was a double-edged sword? Izzo says that answer lies somewhere else.

"There's probably only one guy that knows that and that guy's higher up than the U.P.," Izzo said. "I don't know that answer; I don't think so. I have respect for Keith and how he's handled it. He's played a little hurt where it got bad enough where he couldn't do the things he wanted to do or he thought it was really affecting him, he made that known. Even now if you see him on the bench he looks dead. I mean he's bummed out.

"Like I answered you last week about how I didn't think he'd be back for a week or so. I think if I looked at the longest of long terms I'd be thinking a couple weeks but I could be surprised. I've gotten a degree in medicine this year and I really have zero interest in continuing it."